Learn more about the activities we do at the Center for the Advancement of Children, Youth and Families and read about the latest research presented during Catholic University's Research Day.

  • Center Research and Evaluation
  • Center Training and Technical Assistance Expertise
Center Research and Evaluation
  • Faculty and students affiliated with the Center for the Advancement of Children, Youth, and Families participated in the CUA Research Day on Friday, April 22, 2016.  Click here to take a look at our exciting work.
  • Studying the needs of children and families participating in the longitudinal federally funded study of Early Head Start: National EHS Research and Evaluation Project (NEHSREP); funded by Administration of Children and Families (ACF);
  • Investigating the effects of parent mentoring intervention with high-risk Latino and African American families receiving well-baby health care; funded by Office of Educational Resources and Improvement (OERI);
  • Evaluating the effects of parent education intervention with families of children with disabilities; funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA);
  • Investigating the effects of pre-adoptive parent education services with families pursuing domestic adoption of infants and young children;
  • Examining program effectiveness of structured after-school tutoring program;
  • Exploring the effectiveness of a program designed to support children out-of-school;
  • Investigating practice effectiveness of agency therapeutic intervention designed for grieving children;
  • Examining the effectiveness of life-skills training intervention with offending youth; funded by private developer;
  • Studying the effectiveness of a program designed to support coping and adaptation of children exposed to traumatic events, death, and divorce;
  • Assessing the needs of multicultural residents in low-income community areas in the Metropolitan Washington, DC;
  • Developing and testing an instrument for use in evaluating programs designed to support marriage;
  • Researching the development of unions to represent foster parents;
  • Investigating the connection between foster care and substance abuse risk factors and treatment outcomes;
  • Examining the effectiveness of a computer-based web program curriculum designed to improve life-skills training of high-risk youth.
Center Training and Technical Assistance Expertise
  • Providing consultation and developing a disaster training program for public child welfare agencies in the Washington Metropolitan area;
  • Training child welfare workers in supervision, program development, and direct practice issues;
  • Offering consultation and technical assistance to develop support services for families affected by homicide;
  • Developing agency capacity to engage in an evaluation of services to children and families affected by grief, death, and divorce;
  • Increasing agency capacity to engage in research and investigation for documenting service effectiveness;
  • Developing agency capacity to engage in outcome based evaluation;
  • Increasing program effectiveness through logic modeling;
  • Developing a program curriculum for a multi-disciplinary program training graduate students as future leaders in education in developmental disabilities;
  • Developing and operating a program providing summer enrichment activities for high-risk inner city youth;
  • Training direct-care staff on the responsibilities of all partners in the development and implementation of child treatment plans;
  • Training direct-care staff in addressing the needs of African American adolescents in foster care;
  • Training clinical staff in incorporating a cognitive-behavioral approach for treating childhood trauma, based on national Child Traumatic Stress network's (NCTSN) recommendations; and
  • Consulting and offering technical assistance to Fairfax County public schools.

Catholic University's Research Day

Below are all of the poster's presented during Research Day.

  • Shared Vicarious Trauma among Professional Social Workers:  A Qualitative Study of the Palestinian Experience
  • In-School Wrap Around Services:  A Proposal for an Exploratory Study Promoting Educational Success of African American Males
  • Case Study:  Ecomap and Cultural Ecogram Application in Strengthening the Cultural Sensitivity in Health Care Services for an African American Grandparent with Diabetes Type 2
  • Connections Between Family Centered Care and Medical Homes of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities:  Experiences of Diverse Families
  • Working to Solve Child Abuse and Neglect
  • Generational Impact of Single-Parent Scholarships - Educational Achievement of Children in Single-Parent Families
  • An Exploratory Evaluation of Parent-Child Communication:  A Framework and Study Design for Addressing Prevention of Hispanic Teen Risky Behaviors
  • Examining Potential Predictors of Social Problems in Fifth Graders with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities